2010
image by kevindooley | download the iPhone wallpaper
Welcome to the School of Life Design! We are here to learn and create together. This school has manifested in my life and yours to bring us closer to what we desire. As we teach each other and share our creations, the most important thing to remember is that you are doing everything right. We are inspired to make our lives more joyful and fun, not to doubt our choices or worry about what anyone else thinks. All that matters in life is feeling good, so we are coming together to design experiences that feel good.
After you read through this lesson, you can take a listen to the accompanying discussion between me and my partner-in-design Kelly Cree. Kelly is an absolute expert at explaining these concepts verbally, so if you find yourself getting lost, just listen to the MP3 to gain a better understanding of the topics we’re talking about here.
What is Life Design?
Life Design is the practice of shaping your reality into the specific experiences you desire. Let’s compare it to graphic design: a graphic designer shapes art, technology and information to form a specific message. A life designer has not only visual communication elements at her disposal, but her entire world to draw from.
Why practice Life Design?
Because you can. Because once you get a taste of how much control you have over your life experience, it’s impossible to turn around. If you are complacent, content, & hate rocking the boat, then this course is not for you. If you are always reaching for more, never satisfied with where you are, and full of desire to live your life to the fullest, then keep reading.
Contemporary Life Designers
Life Design is nothing new. Any person pursuing personal development, self-improvement, and spiritual growth is a life designer. But most life designers are not very successful at creating their dream realities, because they are missing one simple thing–confidence. You can have anything you want, if you believe that you can.
Try spending one day listening for what people tell themselves they can’t do. “I could never quit my job, because I can’t find a better one.” “I can’t eat that pizza, it’ll just make me fat.” “I can’t take up running, I’m too out of shape.” And on and on and on. Count the times people are making their own realities with negative statements. Do you ever find yourself doing the same?
Why do we think we can’t do the things we desire? One reason is because we believe someone else is controlling our life experience. We believe our boss, our parents, our children, our friends, the government, the weather, or God is what’s holding us back. But you know what? No one controls your life BUT YOU. Your thoughts are the only things that can hold you back from achieving everything you want.
There are many successful life designers creating their realities and sharing them on the Internet. If you ever need inspiration from people who are living the lives they want NOW, look no further! These are a few of the unique souls who have turned my perspective on life inside out:
- Gala Darling: “I believe in making mischief & the triumph of magic over the brute. I believe in short skirts & lip gloss & bringing the radical self-love revolution. I believe life doesn’t have to be serious, that you create your own reality & that beauty is all around us.”
- Esther & Jerry Hicks: “Jerry and Esther Hicks live a fairy-tale life. These two fun-loving adventure-seekers are currently breathing in huge lungfuls of joy as they figure-eight across the United States in their rock star monster bus, following the good weather, meeting friends along the way and enabling as many people as possible to visit with Abraham.”
- Steve Pavlina: “widely recognized as one of the most successful personal development bloggers on the Internet, attracting more than two million monthly readers to his website.”
- Dawn & Drew: “two ex gutter punks who fall in love, buy a retired farm in wisconsin (then move to costa rica) and tell the world their dirty secrets…” When I met Dawn the other day at Rasputina, Kelly asked her what the point of life was and she replied “to have fun!” Dawn & Drew have been my life design heroes since 2005, leading with their example of supporting themselves doing exactly what they love: podcasting.
- Tim Ferriss: a self-proclaimed lifestyle designer who wrote The 4-Hour Workweek. “Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan—there is no need to wait and every reason not to. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, high-end world travel, monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.”
Basic principles of Life Design
These are the six basic tenets that assist life designers in the creation of great life experiences.
| Oneness | We are all one. We all come from the same source energy. We are just different windows into the same soul. This concept is the reason for living transparently, for sharing what we learn along the way, and for letting go of a little privacy. |
| Alignment | When we are aligned with who we want to be, we feel joy. That alignment comes from feeling good, and from following our inspiration before acting. |
| Contrast | Every time we experience something we don’t want, we know more of what we DO want. This delicious contrast is what creates the desires we strive to quench. Without contrast, we would have no desire. |
| Patterns | Your daily habits, behaviors and experiences come from thought patterns. Your beliefs come from repeatedly going down the same sled-tracks of thought buried deep in your brain. We can learn to recognize when we’re taking the easy way out, and following our thoughts down old, undesirable pathways. Once we recognize our thought patterns, we can allow the creation of new patterns. |
| Balance | Energetic balance means that what you put out into the world comes back to you. By listening to your intuition and bodily cues, balance can be easy to achieve. |
| Whitespace | In graphic design, whitespace is the absence of design elements. It is the place where your eye goes to breathe. In life design, white space occurs where we experience relief, where we let go of resistance. White space is inspiration from our higher selves, after our resisting old thought patterns get out of the way. Meditation and exercise are two ways of creating whitespace in your life. |
Life Design Toolbox
Below are some concepts you can use to start improving your life right now. This is not an exhaustive list, but a starting point for shifting your reality. These concepts will help you recognize the power you have over your own life experience, and every one of them is easy to practice. All you need is an open mind.
| Gratitude | As Steve Pavlina says, “Persistent gratitude will manifest financial abundance much, much, much faster than worry, frustration, or apathy.” Wake up each day and count the things you are grateful for. Keep a list in your sketchbook and add to it every chance you can get. Have an hour long conversation with your best friend about all the things you are grateful for in each other. The point is that once you feel grateful for what you have, more good things will start pouring into your life. |
| Visualization | Penelope Trunk interviewed Jim Fannin about visualizing success. Fannin suggests doing one thing: “play a movie in your head of you achieving your big goal.” By knowing exactly what you want and what it will feel like, you are creating the conditions for your dream to become a reality. Think about it in terms of sex. Before you had sex with someone, did you fantasize about it? Did you try to picture exactly what it would be like? Then, almost like magick, the opportunity arises. Visualization helps focus your intentions, helping your mind bring you what you desire. |
| Creativity | Whenever I feel uninspired, I do some sort of thoughtless creative activity to get my inspiration flowing again. Sometimes I doodle in my sketchbook with pretty colored pencils, sometimes I sit down in photoshop and make fractals over and over. Invariably, the exercise stops my negativity and allows me to move forward with fresh energy. |
| Positive thinking | Taking control of your thoughts is key. Whenever you catch yourself thinking negatively, about ANY subject, pivot into a different thought or different perspective. If you’re thinking “I look so fat” just start thinking “I feel beautiful today!” Turn “I don’t have enough money this month” to “I have more money than I need right now!” It can be hard at first, but only because you’re creating a new thought pattern. It’s easy to keep thinking in your old pathways, but making new thought habits pays off big time. |
| Affirmations | It can be hard to remember to keep thoughts positive, so it helps to write down what you want yourself to believe. Kelly and I made a list we wanted to remember, printed it out and hung it up in our bathroom. Some of the phrases were “I am healthy and prosperous,” “I create my own future by envisioning it clearly,” “I deserve the best, and I accept it now,” and “I choose courage over fear in every decision that I make.” |
| Mindfulness | Mindfulness is about living in the moment. It’s about feeling the breeze on your skin, the air in your lungs, the grass between your fingertips. It’s about looking for things that feel good in every single moment. I’m appreciating the warmth of my keyboard as I type this. I’m enjoying my hair staining my periphery bright pink. I’m loving the sound of raindrops outside my window. By looking for good feelings in every moment, you raise your emotional vibration and attract more good feelings into your experience. |
| Intuition | According to Abraham, you are born with an emotional guidance system that leads you towards what you want. It’s like the “warmer and colder” game you played as a child. When you are getting closer to what you want, you feel better. Warmer… Warmer… Hot! When you are moving away from what you want, you feel bad. Colder… colder… colder… Learning to trust your intuition is not really complicated, just think about how you are feeling. Do you feel good? Then keep doing whatever you’re doing! Personally, when my intuition is really strong, I get a funny taste in my mouth, like a dentist’s drill. It’s not unpleasant–and it lets me know that I’m on the right track! |
Life Design methodologies
A methodology is a system of methods you use to find a solution. A life design methodology is a process of allowing a desired experience to unfold.
The methodology for using the Law of Attraction is: Ask, Believe, Receive. First, ask for the experience you desire by creating it in your mind. Figure out exactly how it will feel. Next, release it into the universe and trust you will get what you want. Then allow yourself to receive what you have asked for. It’s that simple.
Lifestreaming is the life design methodology we’ll be using in this course, and it is very similar to the Law of Attraction methodology. But first–what the hell is lifestreaming?? Lifestreaming is simply sharing your life experiences, usually online. You can lifestream by blogging, podcasting, or publishing an e-book. I lifestream by podcasting, posting lots of photos and creating articles for this site.
As a life design methodology, lifestreaming is the practice of documenting things that feel good. First, by posting about what makes you feel good, you are automatically asking for more things that feel good. You can share about a visualization exercise, what you are grateful for, or any other topic that makes you feel good.
By posting about something that makes you feel good, you’re asking for more good feelings.
Next, you release your desire to the universe. In lifestreaming, you are releasing your desire into the Internet. Publicly sharing your posts is a way for you to believe in them, and also a way to let them go and let the universe take over.
Picture asking for a recipe on Facebook. If your network of friends is large enough, you can trust that someone will answer you with what you want. You wouldn’t freak out, wondering if your question will ever be answered. You just believe someone will step in to help.
So then you receive what you want, and you can document your gratitude, sharing with others how easy it is to get what you want. Posting about the good things in your life just keeps them coming to you faster and faster!
I used to believe that lifestreaming was about portraying reality as it really was. A classmate critiqued my work, saying “what about documenting all the bad things that happen in your life?” I took her advice and started looking to document the shitty parts of my life. Guess what happened–I invited more shit into my life! Before that point, I didn’t have much shit to document! Lifestreaming is about creating experiences that make you feel good, releasing them into the Internet with trust that more good things will come from it, and then receiving more good things!
Posting about gratitude and visualization, or about anything you’re interested in, are just ways of feeling good. By sharing them online, you’re publicly asking for more good things! And when you share your experiences, more people get to see the positive outcomes you are creating, and might be inspired to do the same!
In this course we will be using this lifestreaming methodology, since it would be pretty hard to work together online if we weren’t sharing! If you’d like to try a different methodology, please do! We’d all love to hear about your process.
Activity: Who do you want to be?
When you decide to begin consciously creating the reality around you, it’s a good idea to know what you want. Today’s exercise is to write the “About” page of your dreams. When you have completed this course, what do you want your life to look like? Picture someone asking for your bio. What would you send them? Now is the time to craft your biography to say exactly what you want it to, then get to work designing that very life! I’ve written mine, and it now lives on my own About page. You are in control of where your life is going, so start making some decisions! And don’t worry, you don’t have to keep it forever–you can modify it any time you like!
I am a teacher & student of life design living joyfully with my partner Kelly & my two feline familiars in Austin, Texas. Independently wealthy, super-fit, and covered in mystical tattoos, I have woven my life into a magickal, dream-like trip full of loving friends, delicious vegan food & mind-blowing adventures around the world! My purpose in physical reality is to pursue JOY & share it with others.
This website, jessicamullen.com, inspires thousands of individuals daily to consciously create the lives of their dreams.
Kelly and I also produce The Popular Podcast, a hugely successful video podcast which documents our lives and entertains our international community of friends.
I received my BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005, and my MFA in Design from the University of Texas at Austin in 2010. My thesis report is titled “Lifestreaming as a Life Design Methodology” and you can read it here.
To turn in your assignment, leave a comment on this page with your new bio. Or if you already have a website, post it on your “About” page and leave us a link to click! (If you want me to take a look before you post it, just send it to me in an email.) Also, feel free to do something other than writing! Maybe your bio is in the form of an image, or a video–it’s up to you!
Once you’ve turned in your assignment, I will offer any suggestions I might have!
Don’t forget, you can download the accompanying discussion MP3 to help clarify the concepts covered in this lesson.
See you next time!
Lesson 2 is Designing the Digital You. In this lesson we’ll get you all set up with a website that makes you feel good. We’ll cover privacy concerns, graphic design and whole lot more about lifestreaming to get what you want. And the best part–your “About” page is already written!
Don’t forget to sign up for the School of Life Design Mailing List to get emails when new lessons go up, and to get exclusive content not available to the public.
Thank you!
I am so happy and grateful that we are on this journey together! It is so exciting to find joy and share it with others. If you enjoyed this lesson, please consider a donation to keep the School of Life Design thriving!
Thank you for co-creating with me!
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Yesterday was an absolutely terrible day. My life has been imploding and the straw that broke the camel’s back was when my iPhone completely shit the bed last night. I was literally in tears in the Apple store. I bought a $30 Nokia phone at the ATT store and prepared to suck it up, but I was really upset that I lost most of my digital world from the past 3 years. This morning before work I checked my email and found your first mailing! I read through the Life Design Toolbox and tried to utilize nearly all of it on my 1 hour commute to my crappy job.
The chocolate tart I made (from a new recipe) turned out wonderfully, and best of all, when I got home, I was able to fix my iPhone with ease.
So thanks for helping me take time out of my day to try working towards positive goals and not concentrating on negative setbacks.
i am so so happy to hear your iphone got fixed!!!
thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. i’m so glad that you were able to improve your day – just a little bit of effort to feel good can have such far reaching effects.
now i need to go find me some vegan chocolate tart…
cheers my friend! <3
I’m currently working on my NEW “about me” page and listening to the audio from the first lesson. I’m very excited that you’ve decided to do this School of Life Design and very grateful that you are doing this on a donation basis because I currently don’t have much money but am in definite need of a life overhaul! I’ve been wishing that there was someone out there who could help with my life overhaul (both online and off) and I’m so happy that the universe answered by bringing me here!! Thank you for being a positive light! Brightest Blessings Jessica!!
Hi Jessica,
I have updated my About page. Let me know if you have any suggestions (:
Like swomprat, thanks for your education and encouragement to be positive! It’s impact is truly awesome!
Mouse, hooray for working on your about page! I think it will serve you so well, I can’t wait to read it. Thank you so much for sharing your positive feedback and raising my emotional vibration today!
kimberly, I LOVE YOUR ABOUT PAGE. I especially like the part about your parents, it reminds me that I would like to include something about my family as well. I am actually so inspired by what you wrote–every word feels genuine, and it makes me feel really positive about your entire site. RAD! My only critique, and it is advice I need to take as well, is to dream even bigger.
My brand spankin’ about me:
A writer, sometimes-actress and self proclaimed monster expert I believe in doing what you love and intend to always lead by example.
I am a third generation hippie and feminist, and I credit my family, my mother most of all, for providing me with the space and wisdom to grow into the strong, powerful woman that I am today. I believe in my own power, and I couldn’t have achieved that at such a young age without such wonderful influences in my life.
Never afraid to stand up for something I believe in, what I most believe in is deciding to author your own life in order to live it fully and happily.
Blogging allows me to pass my own lessons on, as I believe that teaching is the best way to learn and I never intend to be done learning.
I am forever grateful that I get to live a life of adventure every day and call it my ‘day job’.
—
Perfect timing too … I’ve been avoiding writing my about me for a while now.
Rhiiannon, hooray for perfect timing! Thank you so much for sharing your new About page with us!
I love what you’ve written, most specifically because you are allowing yourself some freedom in the last paragraph. You’re not too worried about specifying what specific adventures you’ll be having, because who knows what opportunities might arise today!
Grammatically, you could cut down the length of a couple sentences… I love that you are a monster expert, I want to hear more about that!
What a lovely exercise…thank you! I think I need to get more specific but I know that I took one large step forward in my about me. <3
This isn’t as easy as it looks is it? But I’m doing mine now. As you said, it’s important to get down, so you get out there, so to speak. Also it reminds me of who I want to be and where I want to go. I had a completely crappy day yesterday and felt kind of lost, though I’m proud to say that I kept the positive thoughts going…even if I had to sit down and bloody well write them. Still a little exhausted from yesterday, so I’m being kind to myself and taking a day out to work on this and my website. That will help me as much as anything, because it will help give me a direction and start things moving. Will post my about me when I’m done. This stage I’m not aiming for perfection – sometimes I think the important thing is to just do it. Besides which I can change it later.
I am a multipreneur who enjoys learning new things, finding ways to do things better, & sharing joy. My goal in life is to achieve financial & creative freedom, so as to share my knowledge & inspire others joyfully. My website,radliving.wordpress.com, is my outlet to share what I learn, so as to reach out to like minded,entrepreneurial women. It will also be my online scrapbook to stay updated about my core business activities. Lastly,it is my creative outlet & white space in life
Juliet, hooray for your about page! My only suggestion – talk in present tense as much as possible. If you talk about things in the future, they will always stay in the future. If you talk about them like you already have them now, you’re getting in the feeling of having them. That feeling is what brings the things you want to you more quickly.
Stacey, I love where your About is going! I love the simple sentences in the beginning. They are lovely affirmations that make me really understand more about you.
Annie, hell yes, just get going on it and you’ll be on the way! It is definitely important to just write down anything to get started – that way you start formulating your preferences and can start attracting the things you really want. If those things change tomorrow, then yes, you can just change it all! I’ve already changed mine a couple times since I wrote this post, hehe :]
http://currybomb.com/?p=2352
I finally did it, it was harder than I thought but so nice to just dream and really figure out what I want next Autumn to look like.
http://www.blogger.com/profile/11866870982111092162 – here is a link to my new about me page. thank you guys for taking the time to share this with us<3
Sarah, I love your new About! I ESPECIALLY love the part about traveling through space & time in a blue box! THIS WILL HAPPEN!
girls…
I like you a lot, this conversation has been enriching.
and I like no shit. -
Thank you Sarito, it’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
I stumbled upon your site through Gala Darling’s post. I started a 365 day experiment to manifest my dreams a reality on my blog yesterday. And today, I discovered your school of Life Design! I am so relieved to know that there are likeminded people out there. I love when synchronicity or “divine winks” show up unexpectedly to restore hope that I am going in the right direction. I cannot wait to apply your principles.
I’m just reading through this post again and it’s really helping me get back into the swing of things. I love it all over again!
I currently receive Gala Darling’s lovely emails in my inbox. Sometimes I read them, sometimes I’m too busy. However, when I checked my mail yesterday and found her interview with the two of you, I couldn’t pull myself away from it. You ladies have been on my mind since yesterday. And lesson 1 is the first thing I did when I got to work this morning (my job is really lax). You asked us to do an assignment, so I did it. You can find it here: http://beneaththeclovers.tumblr.com/yourstruly
You were so right. It was fun and made me feel good about myself. Also inspired by you, I made a blog post of the things I am thankful for this morning.
I really appreciate what you ladies are doing. It means a lot to me and I look forward to the upcoming lessons and podcasts that I know are much needed in my life, I will surely find them informative. Thank you for all that you have done and keep doing.
Rhina, I love the idea of divine winks! Abraham calls them “confirmations from source” and Kelly and I are always like “CFS!” So glad you stumbled my way!
Emma, that is sooooo cool! Yay! I love it when you’re in the swing of things ;D
Elisha, I just read your brand new about page. I am in love! I am so inspired by the eco-dome idea! Looking forward to hearing more from you :]
Thank you Jessica, I’ll be sure to keep the two of you in mind when the “community” comes to fruition and we start sending out invites for our first art show.
Oh yeah, where’s Kelly’s ‘About Me’? After listening to the accompanying discussion I looked for her’s in the comments, but couldn’t find it.
Yes I definitely want an invite! Kel’s about is here: http://www.kellycree.com/about/
You get to it by clicking the tiny “i” icon on the top right.
This is awesome!! I am a Life Design Practitioner, and I teach women in particular how to define, design, and live their best case scenario lives. I’m so happy to have come across your site, and I commend you for creating a space where people can learn about, explore, and apply these principles to their lives. We need this, and it when practiced, we can truly start BEING our ideal selves instead of having occasional brushes with our greatness. I don’t believe in self-improvement, but I do believe in best-self-actualization. Life Design created that in my life, and it’s great to see that you’re sharing it’s Light too! Happy Designing!
Hey Akilah!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on this! Your site is great – I’m so glad there are more and more of us taking control of our experiences!
Jessica,
You’re such a breath of fresh air!! Thanks for sharing~
So allow me to introduce myself through my first Life Design assigment on my About Me page…
http://giltclover.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html
<3
Jess, I found your site through Gala Darling around the same time that my life and I collided in a back alley, at which point my life slapped me, kissed me passionately and said “where the hell have you been?”
This is exactly what I need right now. Amazing! Magickal! Thank you for creating this!
Rhina, again – it was such a pleasure to read your About page! Your last line is exquisite, “I am an accomplished entrepreneur, independently wealthy, a permanent traveler, exhibiting artist/designer/stylist, voraciously learning, creating and inspiring others to do the same.”
Alex, HOT! So glad to be a part of makeout sessions with LIFE!
Thank you for creating this place of positive energy and forward momentum. I want to develop that self motivation to enjoy my life and to create more moments in which to enjoy it. Thank you for being apart of that journey.
-abs
Hey Abs! You are very welcome! I promise that when you decide to invite more joy into your life, it gets easier and more fun every day.
My ideal About Me description:
“The-Dame.com is intended as a positive women’s life design magazine website where others can find inspiration and advice on how to design their own happy life.
By living my life exactly how I want to, I lead by example and by meeting and profiling others doing the same, I give more examples of how following your heart can be done.
Ive been hired to photograph various events, people and places as well as write for numerous magazines and websites. I have also had the opportunity to speak to audiences about creating your dream life.
My passions are travel, photography, meeting new people and sharing my finds to inspire others.”
Sharon is an 18-year old student trying to figure out the meaning of life.
Passionate for all things learning, a devourer of books, a sometimes drawer and a permanent writer, admirer of pretty things, searching for spiritual illumination, languages devotee, she uses her website for personal purposes in her quest for the reason for her, and the entire world’s, existence.
LISA I LOVE your new About!! So dreamy! I’m so excited to follow your journey, and I love reading your new site!
Sharon, wonderful! Enjoy your quest. From what I’ve seen, the answers are nothing but love, beauty and joy :]
Haha, that was my second attempt at it- I’ve done three more already. I’m still not pleased at all with the results. I find it so hard to write a Future about me rather than a present one. Or, in other words, I find it hard not to end up writing a Real Me About me page instead of a Higher Self About me page. I think it’s because I still don’t know exactly what I would like my HS About page to be like.
I’d also like to thank you, truly, for eveything you put here in your site. You have motivated me in levels that I cannot express and I have even started a blog of my own, one that I am taking seriously. I have been working on it for the past week, but I would like for it to be ready when I link you to it.
For now, only this: THANK YOU!
Sharon that is so awesome! Of course you should be writing and writing more and more versions! Thank you for reminding me about that, because I need to rewrite mine! It’s such a fun exercise – because you can’t do it unless you know what you want! And figuring out what you want is the work you came to physical reality to do!
I can’t WAIT to see what you do with your site!!!
LIFE IS SO FUN!
<3 xo!
OK, here it is, the final version. Let me know what you think! Please check out this entry; I think you’ll enjoy it. ^__^
“I’m 27 and I’m obsessed with improving my life. I’ve been married and separated. I’ve completed high school and dropped out of community college. I am bad at completing chores. I’m excellent at leaving crumbs in my bedsheets. I’m a fantastic friend. I’m an adept cuddler.”
Teach me, Sensei!
http://iamtheheiress.blogspot.com/
I’m having some trouble getting my links and posting down, I am so very sorry if I flooded your comments!
Sharon, HOLY CRAP thank you for that beautiful post you wrote about the school! As for your about page, it is so well written and romantic! My only advice is that as soon as you’re comfortable, change “She aspires to be a well-known journalist,” to “She IS a well-known journalist” and the faster that will be your reality!
Jen, you are adorable! I’m so excited for you and your new site! I love the blog title too :] As for your About, make sure you’re including things you want to remain in your reality! If you are happy to be bad at completing chores (ha I am too), leave that in there, but don’t let things you’re bad at define you! I love that the most important things in life – being a good friend and cuddling – are what you’re emphasizing. I want to know what else you’re adept at, I think humor is definitely one of them :] Also, saying you’re obsessed with improving your life is BRIL. Improvement has no choice but to come.
Thank you, Jessica! I appreciate the feedback, and the compliments! I am feeling so inspired by your idea of constantly re-writing our ‘About Me’s.. because we’re always changing! I’m going to work on mine again right now.
My days are spent writing (novels, screenplays, songs, blogs, and what have you), learning new things (American sign language, kundalini yoga, how to properly chop an onion, and so much more), and, through it all, cultivating joy. As a writer I examine the intricacies of human connection, sharing them with my readers, connecting people with the hope and love and beauty of life. I’ve created a life that I love, populated by my amazing friends and family, a ridiculously adorable cat, and the most nurturing, fulfilling, and fun romantic partnership I could ever have imagined. We travel the world together, collecting inspiration that we then carry back to our lovely home by the sea where we write and draw and sing and laugh and play and love.
Joyfully.
Also, I am awesome.
[p.s. thanks for creating a space for exploring. so. much. fun.]
Hi Ange! Beautiful About! I want to do more yoga so bad, I think I might have to add a line about it in my page! I really enjoy this line: “As a writer I examine the intricacies of human connection, sharing them with my readers, connecting people with the hope and love and beauty of life.” Perfection.
And you are very welcome for the space, it is 100% fun for me too
I just love your website. This really open my eyes and heart to revise my about me page. I will truly follow the life design school, This is what I needed. I would love for you to take a look at my About Me section and tell me your thoughts.
Wahoo, this is so much fun! I just discovered your site and it’s such a blast. It’s really time for me to get back to bed but I revamped my about page. http://www.misstess.com/about
It’s so hard to sum it all up but this is jabbing in the right direction, my old one was Booooorrring! My business is my life but it’s hard to narrow down and portray to the world.
I got to thinking about how to do it this weekend after SxSW. My friend runs a record label and we went down to throw a party. It’s hard to portray that we are more than just a record label, it’s surrounded by a whole community of creative people who come together to do awesome things and have a good time. The challenge is how to let the world know that’s how we do things. It will be interested to be working on this at the same time as my friend
I feel like my business is more than just what I make and sell, but I’m trying not to confuse my potential customers who would, ideally, be coming to my site to buy things! I’m sort of weighing the options of separating my costuming business website/blog from a personal blog but it’s really hard to seperate them. And where do I put other creative projects, etc etc. From my end this is all just part of my life and I want to share it, but I’m worried about confusing my customers.
Anyway, it’s good to get the ball rolling and see happens! <3
April, oh my goodness your About is HOT! I am so grateful you linked to your site, I don’t know anything about tantra philosophy & lifestyle and I’m so curious about it. I subscribed to your site and can’t wait to read more.
I love your perspective on sensuality. It’s completely refreshing and inspiring. Your focus of “health, weight loss, sensual dances, tantra relationship and metaphysics of law and attraction” is fantastic, it seems like you know exactly where you’re going. My only suggestion is to rewrite your About page often to keep yourself challenged and interested and constantly moving towards what you want.
Tess, WOW your about page fills me with such appreciation, your life sounds SO DREAMY. Making beautiful clothes (which are PRECISELY my style I might add), trapeze & stilting?!?!?! Your page is so professional yet so almost fairy tale, you make living a colorful blissful fun life seem effortless!
A suggestion about your creative community, maybe you could incorporate video to show the energy of the events. It sounds so beautiful, I want to know more!
One thing I like to do is keep my personal blog (or my lifestream, where I write every day) off the main page of this site, so only articles are on the front. That way someone can choose to see my personal life if they want, or they never have to know.
Organizing your whole life onto a website is a daunting task but it’s so much fun. One suggestion is to pick the three most important things in your life and focus on those, or see what kinds of themes there are in your life. Flow arts, clothing, party throwing? Having fun, playing, while looking sexy and trippy? Ha I don’t know, but I LOVE YOUR WORK and am so excited to see how it unfolds for you!!
Jessica! You have inspired me in such a big way. Thank you for being so generous with what you share here.
My first assignment isn’t on my About page yet, but it will be as soon as I get all the linking and menus and other goodies set up. I set up a new category for Lifestreaming and it’s my latest post on my blog. I kind of wrote you a butt-kissing love letter on my blog and linked back to you. I hope whoever shows up to read the post will come and check out The Life Design School.
Again, mucho thanks. I am so excited to have found this site.
Kirsten
And I got so carried away I forgot to post the link:
http://www.comoperformancelab.com/2011/03/lifestreaming-1-my-life-design-about-post/
(I forget to attach things to emails all the time too. Especially the ones that begin, “Please find attached…”.)
Thank you so much for the advice! I’m excited to enact some of it!
Hi Jessica,
I was waiting until I had a computer of my own to start my lifestream, but I just can’t hold it off any longer! Please take a look at my first About Me page and let me know what you think
Louise your About Me is beautiful! It really makes me appreciate what you’ve got going on! I love “we spend our time at gigs and workshops” I totally want to do that too… And I love “My income is generated from my blog – a big beautiful delicious cycle of fun” – that’s PERFECT! Thanks for sharing, you’re really inspiring me today!
xo